Vehicle-coupling.



A. L. THOMPSON.

v VEHICLE COUPLING. APPLIOATION FILED MAB..12,1913.

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VEHICLE COUPLING.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR.12,1918.

41 m2 m 4 m A ya m H 8 LAIWZ n w u mm m w W n m m m m UHFHEni m um \QN Mkw WW M Q 4 5 6 @W e 1 g w N .RN W, 0 w E fi w M 1 1 AARON L. THOMPSON,0F LANSING, MINNESOTA.

VEHICLE-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters "Patent.

Patented July 14, 1914.

Application filed March 12, 1913. Serial No. 753,755.

To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that I, AARON L. THOMPSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lansing, in the county of Mower and State of Minnesota, have invent-ed certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Couplings;and I do hereby a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved coupling devicefor detachably' connecting vehicles one to the other, and is especiallyadapted for use in connecting hay loader trucks to wagons equipped withhay racks.

To the above ends, generally stated, the invention consists of the noveldevices and combinations of devices hereinafter de scribed and definedin the claims.

When hay loaders are used in gathering hay on low and soft ground, it isoften impossible for the draft animals to back the wagon with the hayrack into a position to connect the pole of the hay loader thereto, thusmaking it necessary for the men to lift the rear end of the wagon bodilyand swing the same into line with the pole of the hay loader.

My invention provides a coupling device secured to a hay loader'by meansof an extensible connection, whereby the hay rack may be turned in frontof the hay loader to bring the rear end thereof in line with the pole ofthe hay loader but at a distant point therefrom. The coupling device isthen car-. ried forward and secured to the wagon or hay rack. During theinitial forward movement of the wagon, the extensible connectionoperated by suitable mechanism from the traction wheels of the hayloader draws said hay loader forward at a greater speed than the travelof the wagon until the same has reached its proper position for loadingonto the hay rack, at which time the operating mechanism isautomatically tripped out of action.

The invention panying drawings, indicate like parts is illustrated inthe accomwherem like characters throughout the several views.

declare the following to be I 2 is a plan View, on an enlarged scale, ofthe parts shown in Fig. 1, some parts being removed and other partsbeing broken away; Fig. 3 is a detail View partly in side elevation andpartly in vertical section, taken on the line w -a2 of Fig. 2; and Fig.4: is a detail view showing a portion of the wagon reach and the pole ofthe hay loader connected by the improved coupling device.

The numeral 1 indicates the rear wheels of an ordinary farm wagon, andthe numeral 2 indicates the Wagon reach. Mounted on the wagon runninggear is a hay rack indicated, as an entirety, by the numeral 3.Detachably secured to the wagon reach 2, by means of the improvedcoupling device, is a hay loader. Of the parts of the hay loader, it isonly necessary, for the purposes of this case, to refer to the tractionwheels 1, to which is secured, for rotation therewith, an axle 5. Totheaxle 5 is secured a short pole 6 and diagonal brace bars 7 secured tothe intermediate and opposite sides of the pole 6. Referring now to myimproved coupling device, the numeral 8 indicates a block havingjournaled therein a sheave 9. Integrally formed with the front end ofthe block 8 is a hook 10, adapted to be secured to an eye 11, shown inthe drawing as anchored in the rear end of the reach 2 but, of course,said eye may be attached to any convenient part of the wagon or hayrack. The rear end of the block 8 terminates in an expanded strikingflange 12, the purpose of'which will presently appear. The intermediateportion of a cable 13 is passed through-the block 8 and over the pulley9. One end of this cable 13 is anchored to an eye 14, secured to theforward end and one side of the hay loader pole 6. The other end of thecable 13 extends along the opposite side of the pole 6 to which the eye14 is secured, and is wound on a flange Windlass drum 15 secured to ahorizontal transversely extended shaft 16. Said shaft 16 is journaled inbearings 17 secured, one to the pole 6 and the other to one of the bracebars 7 Rigidly secured to the shaft 16 is a rela tively small sprocketwheel 18, over which and a relatively largev sprocket wheel 19 on theshaft 5 runs a sprocket chain 20. The hub of the sprocket wheel 19 isloosely and slidably mounted on the shaft 5, and one end thereof isprovided with a half clutch 21 and the other end thereof is providedwith a groove 22. Cooperating with the half I,

clutch 21 and rigidly secured to the shaft 5 is a half clutch 23. Forsliclingthe hub of the sprocket 19 on the shaft 5, a shipper lever 24 ispivotally secured at 25 to va'transverse bar 7 secured, at its ends, tothe brace bars 7. The free end of theshipper lever 24 projects into thegroove 22 on the hub of the sprocket wheel 19, and its pivoted end hasintegrally formed thereon a laterally projecting arm 24, which extendssubstantially parallel with the shaft 5. To the free end of the arm 24is secured, by means of a 3 slot and pin connection 26, one end. of atrip M rod 27. This trip rod 27 is slidably mounted inthree bearings 28,secured to the upper face of the pole' 6. A coiled spring 29, anchored,at one end, to the pole 6 and, at its'other end,'to' the trip rod 27tends to 'yieldingly hold the trip rod 27 in an operative position withits free end projecting forward of the front end of the pole 6 and withthe half clutches 21 and 23 interlocked one with the other.

During the advance movement of the hay loader, the Windlass 15is'rotated in the direction of the arrow marked on Fig. 2. During thisrotation of the Windlass drum 15, the cable 13 is wound thereon, therebydrawing the hay loader forward at a speed greater than the travel of thehay rack to which the same is attached. -At the final Winding of thecable 13 on the Windlass drum 15, the free end of the trip rod 27strikes the flange 12 of the block 8, thereby forcing said trip rod27rearward against the tension of the spring 29 and sliding the halfclutch 21 out of engagement with the half clutch 23. To preventunwinding of the cable 13 from the Windlass drum 15, thereby keeping thepole 6 secured in close arrangement with the reach 2, a ratchet wheel 30is rigidly secured to the shaft 16 with'which cooperates a pawl 31,pivotally secured to a bearing 32 on the pole 6.

To look the half clutch 21 in an inoperative position out of engagementwith the half clutch 23, a spring latch 33 is secured to the cross bar7*; Normally, the arm 24 extends in front of the latch 33, as best shownin Fig. 3, but when the trip rod 27 is forced rearward, by itsengagement with the flange. 12, said arm 24 is forced over said latch33. In this position of the latch 33, the trip rod 27 is held againstthe tension of the spring 29. The free end of the latch 33 works througha perforation formed in the cross bar 7 and is provided with aring-equipped link 34, by which said latch may be pulled downward out ofengagement with the arm 24*, in order to permit the parts held therebyto return to their operative positions.

What Iclaim is:

1. The combination with front and rear vehicles to be coupled, of acable arranged to connect said two vehicles when at a distant point onefrom the other, means operatedby one of the traction wheels of one ofsaid-vehicles to wind up said cable and thereby draw said rear vehicleinto close arrangement with said front vehicle during ing the initialforward movement thereof,

means preventing the unwinding of said cable to thereby hold saidvehicles coupled,

and automatic means for'tripping said traction wheel operated means outof action when said rear vehicle has reacheda prede- .1.

termined position with respect to said front vehicle, substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination with front and rear vehicles to be coupled, of asheave secured to the front vehicle, a cable passed over said sheave,anchored at one en'dto the rear vehicle and having its other endwound ona Windlass drum on said rear vehicle, means for rotating said Windlassdrum from the traction wheels of said rear'vehicle, means preventing theunwinding of said cable from said drum to thereby holdsaid vehiclescoupled, and means for tripping said Windlass drum operating means outof action at a predetermined time, substantially as described.

4. The combination with front andf'rear vehicles to be coupled, of asheave secured to the front vehicle, a cable passed over said sheave,anchored at one end to the rear vehicle and having its other end woundon'a Windlass drum on sald rear vehicle, means for rotating saidwindlassdrum from the traction wheels of said rear vehicle, meanspreventing the unwinding of said cable from said drum to thereby holdsaid vehicles coupled, and a trip rod mounted on said rear vehicle andarranged to be operated when, engaged by a part on said vehi cle forthrowing said drum operating means 3:

out of action, substantially as described.

' 5. The combination with front and rear vehicles to be coupled, of asheave secured to the front vehicle, a cable passed over said sheave,anchored at one end to the rear vehicle and having its other end woundon a Windlass drum of said rear vehicle, means including cooperatinghalf clutches for rotating said Windlass drum from the traction wheelsof said rear vehicle, means preventing the unwmding of the cablefromsaid drum to thereby hold said vehicles coupled, and a trip rod mountedon the pole of said rear vehicle and arranged to be operated whenengaged by a part on said front vehicle, for throwing said half clutchesout of engagement one with the other, substantially as described.

6. The combination with front and rear vehicles to be coupled, of asheave secured to the front vehicle, a cable passed over said sheave,anchored at one end to the rear vehicle and having its other end woundon a Windlass drum on said rear vehicle, means including cooperatinghalf clutches for rotating said Windlass drum from the traction Wheelsof said rear vehicle, pawl and ratchet devices preventing the unwindingof the cable from said drum, a trip rod mounted on the pole of said rearvehicle and arranged to be operated when engaged by a art on said frontvehicle, for throwing said iialf clutches out of engagement one with theother, a spring tending to hold said trip rod in an operative positlon,and a. spring latch for holding said trip rod in a retracted posit-ionand said half clutches out of engagement one With the other,substantially as described.

Intestimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AARON L. THOMPSON. Witnesses:

H. T. BANFIELD, E. H. STERLING.

Gopies of 1:111: patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patent! Washington, D. G.

